Sorry, Pennsylvania Democrats, but the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles haven’t actually thrown their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
The team denied responsibility Monday for the sudden appearance of bus-stop posters declaring that the Eagles have endorsed Ms. Harris, calling them phony.
“We are aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed,” the team wrote on its official X account.
The ads show a colorful graphic of Ms. Harris wearing a Philadelphia helmet and holding a football above the slogan: “Kamala/Official Candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles.”
The posters also include a link to www.philadelphiaeagles.com/vote, an election information page for Pennsylvania voters that includes details such as how to register to vote and where to find polling locations. But the page has no candidate endorsements.
The posters cropped up at bus shelters that belong to the media company Intersection, which also denied responsibility for the ads, saying its transit locations had been vandalized.
“We are aware that several of our bus shelters located in Philadelphia have been vandalized and that the paid advertising copy in each of those shelters has been replaced with unauthorized copy,” the company told Philadelphia TV station WPVI, 6ABC.
“While our bus shelters have locks that typically prevent the installation of unauthorized copy by non-Intersection staff, occasionally people find a way to unlock the ad box and insert unauthorized copy,” Intersection said.
The #Eagles are aware of this Kamala Harris political ad. The team says it’s counterfeit and is working with their advertising partner to have it removed. pic.twitter.com/iW3bO25Glz
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 2, 2024
A Philadelphia city spokesperson said that neither the Harris campaign nor the city was to blame for the ads.
“These were not digital ads placed by the Harris campaign, the Philadelphia Eagles, SEPTA, The City of Philadelphia or the media agency, Intersection, that handles the transit ad space,” the spokesperson told TV station WCAU, NBC10.
“This was not a digital breach; whomever is responsible for the illegally placed posters, broke into the securely covered shelter ad space and somehow put the posters in the space,” the spokesperson said.
Pennsylvania is seen as a must-win state for both Ms. Harris and her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
It’s likely the artist Winston Tseng who does political pieces. This was one… pic.twitter.com/uW4ILtE4GR
— negativeBLUR (@negativeBLUR) September 2, 2024
Some sharp-eyed commentators said the poster may be the handiwork of guerrilla artist Winston Tseng, who has previously posted politically themed artwork in the context of popular brands at Philadelphia bus stops without authorization.
Mr. Tseng has not commented publicly on the speculation.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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